


she was a punk, he did ballet

by fish_wifey



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ballet, F/M, Getting Together, Getting together speedrun, Pining, Skating, tanakiyoweek2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:29:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25399198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fish_wifey/pseuds/fish_wifey
Summary: She skates past this dance studio every day. If only she could keep skating past...but lately, Kiyoko stops for a few minutes. She likes to watch a lone ballet dancer who dresses in an all-black assemble. His orange ballet shoes pirouette around and around. She thinks it pirouetting, at least. Kiyoko has no clue. She only knows that this boy is beautiful and strong. He has a shaven cut, muscly arms and those legs…Kiyoko skates past every day, pauses for 10 mins, then gets moving before it becomes obvious.Ryuunosuke loves teaching the youths in his neighbourhood. He never wanted to go pro, and thank god he didn't. Otherwise he'd miss this secret admirer looking at him through the ballet studio's large window. When the kids are gone, Ryuunosuke dances for himself, and his audience of one. He doesn't know their identity, no name, no nothing. Only that they look cool and skate by, every evening. Ryuunosuke understands fast that he can't let them notice he knows they're there. The person is shy and would skate away if they knew...Until one evening, when Ryuunosuke falls.
Relationships: Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke
Comments: 8
Kudos: 69





	she was a punk, he did ballet

**Author's Note:**

> I saw the tanakiyo week promo one day, and then this ducky art with the caption ‘he was a punk, she did ballet’. Immediately had the visionary thought ‘no but make it different.’  
> I have a tanakiyo dance fic (set in canon with both of them having dance as hobby. Kiyoko ballet, Tanaka hiphop), and a sugumika skater au. So this is like, the perfect mix of the subjects I have no clue about www
> 
> I had a lot of fun writing Kiyoko the way I did~ and for Ryuu not to assume the gender of a secret admirer uvu (he's my bisexual king but this once i make him pan)
> 
> I am a little late with this but figured that editing had no haste as manga-part of fandom was dealing with crazier things!  
> (pls remember not to post any sort of spoilers in the comments! I have read the chapter but perhaps other people haven't uvub)
> 
> Please enjoy!

The rolls of her skateboard run over the smooth sidewalk. There are no people in her way, no one she has to weave around. Kiyoko chooses paths on which she isn’t a bother for anyone, where she can be completely free. Around the city, streetlights turn on, as the sun starts to set. She cannot see the horizon within the concrete. Kiyoko doesn’t need horizons or pretty sunsets. Her favourite view, her newest obsessions of the past couple of weeks, has his own light. A spotlight, more so. 

Rounding a corner, Kiyoko steps her feet down hard, to keep on rolling and waving to her own preferred pace. The dance studio up ahead stands out with its black colours and light yellow title. Nearing it, Kiyoko flips her cap right side forward. It hangs low over her face, shielding it. She takes out her gum, wraps it nonchalantly in a paper to be thrown away at home.

Siding up to the large floor to ceiling window, Kiyoko brings her board to a halt. One foot on the sidewalk, she’d be ready to take off at a moment’s notice.

He’s there, as always. Focused on himself. A body that would make the marble statues of Greek gods green with envy. A tight black tank top and skin-fitting tights reveal nothing behind the black fabric. Grace thunders through the limbs, lifting, landing. The orange coloured ballet shoes should destroy the picture of tranquillity and absolute cool, but Kiyoko can’t help liking the bold choice on the feet.

Her gut flutters when she watches outstretched arms, taut muscles. The leg stretches forward, flying through the air, its counterpart making sure the balance stays where it should be. On tip-toes, the ballet dancer carries himself over the floor, arms aching up. A black swan…except that Kiyoko thinks he’s more of a raven, or a crow. Darkness sweeping through the bright lit studio, where she’s found the dancer alone whenever she came by at exactly this time in the evening. The music inside doesn’t quite make it past the windows.

Kiyoko’s heart stutters too, when she watches him do pirouettes. At least, that’s what she thinks he’s doing, when one ballet shoe stays on the floor, lifting the entire body up, and the leg stretches into an O—turning forever, making Kiyoko wish she looks different. Not the loose shirts and uninteresting jeans she wears day in, day out. She likes her own style…but watching the dancer, she wouldn’t mind being more feminine, more mind-blowing. She sees her own reflection in the window; the piercings and ink, the multitudes of band-aids. Everything about him is right, tight, and beyond precise.

But she was a punk, and he dances ballet. As if they could ever be a match…

Kiyoko waits out her normal 10 minutes of entranced staring. She’s never noticed by the other. His eyes aren’t closed, and they flick her way during his turns. But he never sees her though. Kiyoko wouldn’t let him. As soon as he’d notice her, she would skate along, be out of sight.

Before it comes to that, Kiyoko is off. She looks down her arms, littered with chosen tattoos and band aids. She has a new bruise on above her elbow from a fall today. She vows to take better care of herself each day. Wishes she could uphold her beautiful parents standards or listen to their tips. Instead, Kiyoko finds herself in a pipe, flying through the air on her board, or simply skating long streets by herself. Maybe the dancer doesn’t notice her because she looks unexciting. But she can’t wear tight jeans and a flimsy shirt when she skates. They’d be ruined in a matter of hours.

“Ararara,” she says to herself, smiling. She really must have it hard for that guy, if she thinks of her appearance this much!

*

*

“And remember Masa-kun, tight belly!” Ryuunosuke says to one of his students. They all wave to him, scream their goodbyes. They’re so sweet and silent during the hour Ryuunosuke teaches them. But as soon as the ballet shoes are off and the parents pick them up? Loud little rascals. Ryuunosuke loves them to bits, waves excitedly afterwards.

Other groups and teachers make their way out, too. Ryuunosuke notes down things of the day, checks the inventory. He waits till a couple of minute before 8 pm. Then he switches out of his day clothing, into his personal faves. The all black ensemble, and his orange ballet shoes. Grinning, he walks to the stereo, looks through his music app to find a more upbeat classical number to dance to tonight.

He stretches for the warm up, eyes on the clock. He wouldn’t want to miss his favourite new watcher, after all. Every evening, for about 2 weeks (that he noticed), a person would skate by. Ryuunosuke couldn’t be sure about gender, and it didn’t matter to him. The low cap, baggy clothes…they revealed nothing, making whoever they were awake more curiosity from Ryuunosuke. He couldn’t fix them with a gaze, not in the middle of his routine. He thinks he noticed black lines and spots on the arms though, possible tattoos. 

If Ryuunosuke wasn’t so extremely shy, he would go out there. Better yet, he’d wait outside after 8, to see where the skater came from, what their face looks like. Giddy with the unknown, Ryuunosuke lifts his arms. He puts on a dramatic face, fitting to the music. Some of the Russian classics have so much strength and boom to it. When he dances, there’s nothing shy about him. He knows people thought of him as intimidating, not just when he dances. But be it boy or girl, whomever in between or outside the genders…he wouldn’t be able to talk to them when he has a crush.

And he wanted to impress this person. So Ryuunosuke dances, keeps on turning and making his body do awesome things when he knows the watcher on the skateboard stands in front of the window. It’s just a few minutes of his day, but every day, those few minutes are his brightest and most intense.

He turns on his heel, bows his body from one side to the other, arms out as if he’s sweeping someone off the floor and into the sky. He could sweep that skater up, 100%—they were a lithe person for sure. The arms, what little there was to see, looked skinny enough. The mere thought of it, lifting the skater, has Ryuunosuke smiling wide. His concentrations falters as his daydream trips his feet.

“Aagh!” he yelps out as he twists his ankle, and groans out a curse when he falls on his arms. Just in time to protect that face of his. Red with shame, Ryuunosuke doesn’t dare to look up. Did the skater see? Or where they gone just in time to not see the shameful landing…Ryuunosuke doesn’t know, doesn’t want to. He crawls to the side, sits up with his back to the window. Touching his ankle gingerly, he hisses. Ballet feet, especially the toes, were the ugliest things on the world. They show the craft and sacrifice, but they were just not so pretty to look at. Now his ankle would have a blue bruise, too. And maybe…he wouldn’t be able to dance it out for a while.

“Shitting bullshit,” he curses again, trying to get up slowly. He couldn’t rest any sort of weight on that ankle. Head hanging, Ryuunosuke walks over to his phone, shuts off the music. There’s mirrors on this side of the studio, and he peeks a glance—

wishing he hadn’t

—the skater was still there. They’d rolled over from one side of the corner where they always stood, to the other corner, the mirror-wall where Ryuunosuke was now at. 

Sulking, Ryuunosuke turns. He notices the flinch under all the baggy clothes. The skater skates out of sight. Probably thinking he was ultra-lame and not all that talented after all. Ryuunosuke sighs. He’s never wanted to go pro, knew he couldn’t dedicate himself to that side of the ballet world. Shoulders hanging, pride dented, and ankle throbbing in pain, Ryuunosuke makes his way slowly to the other side of the room. He might have to call Ukai and ask for a pick up…

When he comes to the door however, the studio door which is always open, he finds a little cooling spray waiting there for him. Ryuunosuke blinks. It stands there with purpose, not like an item that has fallen out someone’s pocket. Who would even have cooling spray in their pockets, Ryuunosuke couldn’t fathom. He bends to pick it up, hinging from the hip. The cooling spray has a light blue post-it note attached to it. Ryuunosuke gazes over the neat, clean strokes of kanji.

 _Get well soon. This helps with almost everything I deal with. I hope the pain won’t last._

His heart crumbles at the gentleness and care. This stranger…but something else catches Ryuunosuke’s eye. A single character below the message, the word for water. Mizu. Ryuunosuke smiles, the pain forgotten for a moment. He doesn’t have much, but he knows now that the secret watcher has a very neat handwriting, and that their name either has the word ‘mizu’ in it, or that ‘water’ is their nickname. 

He pockets the cooling spray to use later, and keeps the post-it note.

*

*

When Kiyoko falls, she gets up and moves on—not a single fall has had her at the hospital, or unable to skate. She doesn’t measure that against what she’s seen the other day. The twisting ankle had looked like a lot of pain.

What’s worse is her selfishness. Her sadness of not seeing the ballet dancer at night. For a week, she keeps skating by. The studio lights are dim, and not a single shadow is seen inside. Kiyoko comes and skates by slowly, but she doesn’t linger. Each time, her heart yearns. Maybe she should have written her phone number on the post-it? Or go in and check on the dancer…

A week goes by like this. At the end of it, a late Sunday afternoon, Kiyoko doesn’t wait till 8 pm to skate homewards. The streets are a little bit busier. People with their shopping, talking about dinner and desert. Cap flung backwards, Kiyoko skates past them, just a soul passing by. A fish in the water, when everyone else is a ship. The dance studio is in her back already, as she rounds a corner. She takes the corners wide, to make sure she doesn’t crash into anyone. 

“O-oh! It’s you! Wow, I can see your face,” she hears the voice say, and Kiyoko doesn’t think she’s meant for a moment. Except she notices a shaven head, and for the first time, golden eyes. They stare at her. Only her. Golden eyes travel to her piercings, stop at her septum, then look back up to her eyes. His own cheeks colour red. Kiyoko blinks at those golden eyes and the blush, before taking in all of who is in front of her; at the black hoodie, the black jeans with holes and distress in it. The hands holding two bags of groceries. One leg straight, the other bend, with a bandage at the ankle. High-top red shoes, as bold as the ballet ones. Kiyoko looks back up, her own blush as pink as cherry blossom flowers, most like.

“Ah, hello,” she says in a small voice, eyes immediately looking away. Did he see her tongue piercing when she talks? “You’re up and moving.”

“Doctor’s orders say I shouldn’t move too much! B-but a man needs to eat,” the dancer says. Kiyoko hears the rustle of bags, then a hand outstretched to her. A hand… “My name is Ryuunosuke. Thank you very much for the cooling spray! It helped a lot. By the way, you look extremely cool!”

Kiyoko glances at him, at the bags having shifted into one hand, at the free hand with the calluses, a crow tattoo just below the thumb-joint. Blinks at the hoodie, wide over the shoulder, at the red blush, not diminishing. Eyes shifting to the wide, beautiful, sharp-toothed smile, beaming at her. The compliments fly over her head, as Kiyoko steps off her board, folds her hands forward, and bows politely.

And then she gets back on the board, back to her senses. “Don’t mind it. I had leftover…I have to go now,” she says, and skates on, even when the dancer—when Ryuunosuke calls for her to wait. She doesn’t. She speeds on, other people be damned. Her blush makes her cheeks hurt.

He was so tall and beautiful. So strong and sweet.

*

*

People stare at him long after the skater is gone. Ryuunosuke cannot retrieve his hand, too stunned to move. Has he really been able to speak and talk to this beautiful person? Hadn’t he been able to say something cool for once? He probably scared them away… The throbbing ankle yells at him to move to wherever he could sit down and chill. Ryuunosuke casts one last longing glance to where the skater has disappeared into. Here one moment, gone the next. 

His heart doesn’t stop hammering.

*

*

He gives his classes to a substitute. Watching over it for half an hour, Ryuunosuke swaps his clothes. Using the cooling spray before he puts his socks on—black and invisible under the shoes—he slips his relieved feet into his all-black sneakers. Prepared to go out incognito, he has shades on (borrowed from Kageyama) and a woollen grey hat (a gift from Saeko, last Christmas). His black T is always a low-cut, revealing some of his chest muscles. The rest of his assembles are hues of grey, with more skin shown at the cut out jeans.

He knows where the skater comes from. There’s a couple of skate-parks in the neighbourhood. Why not reverse the tables, and see what the beautiful unnamed stranger can do in their own element?

Two skate-parks later, his ankle hurts. Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea after all. There was one more spot he could check out, but his ankle refuses to go any further. The horizon darkens with his mood, with his hopelessness. He wasn’t one to give up easily, but if his body couldn’t cooperate, his mental stability had no option but to falter. Sighing, he turns tail. Perhaps the skater was at another park. Perhaps they circulated it daily. Or, they weren’t at the designated parks at all.

The familiar sound of rolls comes from behind, passes him, and then Ryuunosuke looks at the back of the skater. Blinking at the crazy odds, he forgets momentarily that he needs to speak up.

“H-hey, you!” He blurts out, watching the skater’s head turn. A pink bubblegum blows out, then pops. The skater stops, circles back, then around him. Ryuunosuke turns, careful to let his weight not be on the hurting ankle. “Woah, hey. I was looking for you! You didn’t tell me your name yesterday.”

Ryuunosuke sees his face reflected in the skater’s own shades. They’re round and cool, not hiding much of that perfect skin. They blow their bubblegum, pulling down the shades coolly down the nose. Blue-grey eyes peer at Ryuunosuke, consideration and perhaps judgement crossing them idly. Ryuunosuke swallows, unable to turn his head more than he already has.

“Why would you need to know my name?”

Ryuunosuke’s hand shoots out to the wrist, his face pink. His heart is going so fast that his words come out even faster.

“I think you’re very beautiful! I-I would like to get to know you better!”

The skater stops, but doesn’t get off their board. The eyes above the rounded shades show surprise, wide and round. Getting off the board, they flip it up into their waiting hand. Looking around, they appear a bit shy and on the spot. Ryuunosuke let’s go of their hand immediately, apologizing for the perhaps tough grip. The skater shakes their head.

“It’s fine…” they say, putting the board between hip and lower arm. It tumbles forward, back. “My name is Shimizu. Shimizu Kiyoko.”

“Oooh, that is such a beautiful name, and fits you so well!” Ryuunosuke says, rubbing the back of his head. He repeats his own name, forgetting that he already told them yesterday. Kiyoko laughs. A brilliant sound that Ryuunosuke would do anything for to hear more often. His heart…he feels healed all over by the smile.

“You told me already…Ryuunosuke-kun,” Kiyoko says, turning to where Ryuunosuke came from. “What brings you here? Are you not teaching?”

Walking back, Ryuunosuke gets more flustered as he explains. Kiyoko has pink cheeks too, listening.

“Yes, I was at the Oro-skate park. It’s further from the urban city center, and more desolate and abandoned. I like it there the most.” Kiyoko looks down his ankle, pointing. “If you’re letting another teacher sub for you, you shouldn’t have come out this far to meet me…”

“But you never stay still at the studio for long!” Ryuunosuke says, wondering if his interest in the skater was accepted and…maybe wanted? He had no clue. “Kiyoko-san, do you…want to hang out with me?”

Kiyoko blinks in surprise, her cheeks a bit pinker. Then she grins. “Shouldn’t that be ‘go out with me?’”

Shaking his head, Ryuunosuke spreads his arms. “See, I think that would be very forward of me, and I don’t want to scare you off. A-a-and I think hanging out, we could get to know each other at a more easier pace, and with more ease! Would you like to?”

Kiyoko looks down as she walks, then nods. She pulls her hair past her ear. “…I might be fine with that.”

Back at the studio, they exchange phone numbers. Then Ryuunosuke asks what he really feels he needed to know before letting Kiyoko go.

“If you don’t mind me asking…What are your preferred pronouns?” Ryuunosuke asks. Kiyoko looks surprised again, then looks at their reflection in the studio window. Ryuunosuke follows the gaze to the chest area, then looks away quickly. Ryuunosuke continues speaking, guessing he shouldn’t have asked after all. “If it’s a touchy subject, pardon me. I meant no harm. You don’t have to tell me if it’s not comfortable…”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve always identified as a girl. It’s just…I don’t like to openly show it a lot, or draw attention to it? Most skater girls I know look like this. Few show lots of skin, or wear skin-tight things,” Kiyoko looks down to him, and Ryuunosuke smiles out of feeling a little embarrassed. Yeah, unlike him. Kiyoko looks kindly to him though. “I think it’s very kind of you to not assume someone’s gender identity. I try to be careful too. Although, you were always a him in my mind.”

Laughing heartily, Ryuunosuke puts his hands on his hips. “Good! I do not hide my masculinity, nor my femininity. But yes, I’m a whole guy! Your guy, if you wish, Kiyoko-san!”

She laughs again, a sound he’d chase to hear, every day.

*

*

Something in his smile has Kiyoko wanting to say more. To be more. She takes Ryuunosuke to her favourite skate park. He wants to see her skate, and after willing away her shyness, Kiyoko gets on her board. After all, she has seen often enough what Ryuunosuke can do. She’s been a silent watcher so long… 

Tipping her board forward to almost roll down the pipe, she looks over her shoulder. Ryuunosuke sits down, neatly tugging away the leg that doesn’t hurt. The other stretches out in front of him. He has his hands on his ankle, his smile as bright as a spring day. Kiyoko smiles too, finding herself content in her skill to show off for once.

As she rolls down, she leaves behind stupid fears. On her board, she’s free. When she does tricks, he hears Ryuunosuke clapping, his ‘Woaaah!’s and ‘Ooooh!’s following her all the time. She does daring tricks too, encouraged by his applause and compliments. Flying through the air, Kiyoko feels a different kind of weightless. As if her stomach left her body. There’s something that fills her all anew. Landing, she balances herself, then brings her foot down hard. She comes up from where she started, watching Ryuunosuke applaud hard.

“That was so cool! You’re a goddess on that board!” 

No one ever called her that. Kiyoko looks to the ground, holding her board between her lower arm and her hip. She sits down next to Ryuunosuke, who asks her one million questions about skate-boarding. As she becomes more animated in talking him through her beginnings and failings, she sits closer to him as well. She doesn’t usually talk this much, and she feels her throat drying out.

Ryuunosuke blinks, then gets up. “Ah, I see a vending machine over there. Can I bring you something?” he asks, not listening to her protest. He should sit down and rest. But Ryuunosuke’s smile brightens as he distances himself to get them sodas. She watches him walk away, hawk-eyes on his ankle…he seems fine enough. The many band-aids on her arm don't seem to worry him at all, nor her tattoos. She wonders if a being as perfectly bodied as him would have a modification...

They stay at the park until the sun starts to sets. Kiyoko’s heart feels completely full. The park looks beyond beautiful in the sunset light. She’s opted out of it for some time, to watch Ryuunosuke instead. Looking at him now, how those golden eyes peer over her in admiration and respect…she doesn’t mind how close they are. Doesn’t mind Ryuunosuke’s hand, resting behind her without touching. Doesn’t mind that their thighs _are_ touching.

“You’re really beautiful, Kiyoko-san,” he says, his voice low and so close to her ear. Kiyoko wants to look away, her natural instinct kicking in—but her eyes won’t move. Her face stays perfectly still as Ryuunosuke leans in closer. His hands hold hers, fingers running gently over her palm, then her wrist. They clasp around Kiyoko's hands once more. Ryuunosuke takes a deep breath. His shoulders square up, and he releases a question within one breathe and a stutter. “Would you mind if I…m-may I kiss you..?”

Kiyoko blinks, surprised when she feels her head shake. Wait, would he interpret it as a no...She becomes stiff all over. Licking her lips and looking down on Ryuunosuke's, she waits for him to lean forward. Holding his hands, Kiyoko feels her own clammy and cold in his warm ones. Ryuunosuke's fingers run over hers, then he leans forward. She could not believe how gentle and perfect his lips are. He presses them to hers, once. A soft sound comes from his lips. Then he angles his head and closes in again, and Kiyoko feels her lids become heavy. Her heart beats so loudly, but all she can focus on is that she too, moves her mouth against Ryuunosuke’s. She lets her tongue run over his, her tongue piercing not spooking him once. The warm light of the sunset blankets them. From Ryuunosuke, she feels an entire different kind of warmth too. And within her own body, an unknown heat rises.

When they part, Kiyoko puts her head on his shoulder. His arm is strong and gentle at once, when he puts it over her shoulders.

“The studio has a roof, for viewing sunsets too. If you come by again…please come in and stay a while?” he asks, and Kiyoko hears the shuddering in his breathe. Feels almost comforting to know he’s nervous too. Kiyoko snuggles closer into his strength, and nods. She wouldn’t mind one bit. "That's great! I'd love to know so much about you..." Hinting at what he's interested in, Ryuunosuke's fingers run over her wrists again, over the few tattoos there.

Kiyoko might be shy, but she wouldn't mind showing Ryuunosuke all her tattoos. All there is to her. He's been nothing but sweet and accepting. Just by his presence next to hers, she already feels powered up.

**Author's Note:**

> challenge at self: write M/R rated fics that aren't speedrun get togethers!
> 
> No matter, I had a lot of fun this week and wrote 2 more stories for the hell of it.


End file.
